It Hurts him
by Amy-chan337
Summary: Near wonders why Mello refuses to interact and make friends with any of the children at Wammys House besides Matt. Curiosity getting the better of him, Near confronts Matt about this and gets an unexpected answer.


It hurts him

Near was always one to observe the happenings around him. It made him think about things that others failed to notice. Perhaps it was this unusual curiosity with the world around the snowy-haired boy that brought him to notice a certain individual in Wammy's House; Mello. A fellow student, a genius and most prominently...a rival. Since the day Near arrived at the orphanage and was thus told he was first in line to succeed the world-renowned super detective, L, he had become Mello's sworn enemy. Having been knocked down to second place was not something that Mello wanted to hear and so he would not associate himself at all with the younger genius but instead would push himself to the extreme to beat him at anything and everything, from the weekly tests held at Wammy's to even staying up all night studying, causing him to be ill the next two days from exhaustion and _still_ attending class all the same.

Many of the child prodigy's at Wammy's were happy, friendly and colourful characters each with their own strengths that were the very reason they were asked to attend the special orphanage in the first place. Each child was friends with the majority of the other pupils laughing and playing together as the days went by both in lessons and out. Mello was the exception; of all the children in Wammy's, it was a well known fact by the pupils and by even some of the professors that he was someone to avoid. He was hot-tempered, easily offended and completely driven by his emotions. Students, despite their slight fear of the strawberry-blonde teen would still attempt to befriend him, inviting him to join their groups on their weekend outings to hang out in Winchester town centre or just to play some form of sport or even to have a chat. Yet the slenderly-built boy would narrow his ice blue eyes, exaggerating his feline features and answer coldly " No way " or " I have better things to do with my time" much to the confusion and dismay of his fellow prodigies. He would also object to any group work in lessons much preferring to work by his self and when forced to join a group he would sulk and reluctantly participate as little as possible. Near always wondered why on earth Mello was so against making any sort of interaction with the other children...He had one friend in the whole orphanage, Matt, who happened to be the tallest boy in Wammy's (Mello being the second once again - life just seemed to work that way for him) with vibrant red hair who loved his game boy as much as Mello adored his chocolate and had a curious obsession with stripes- it's all he ever wore as well as his goggles. Mello and Matt were inseparable, joined at the hip, two peas in a pod. If Mello moved then so would Matt and it was the same the other way around. Near would observe those two laughing with each other at their inside jokes and just generally being as close as a pair of brothers, Yes Mello was capable of being very friendly when he wanted to but he was only willing to be like this with Matt. "Why?" Near thought to himself taking a snowy lock in his fingers and twirling it in deep thought. First to succeed or not and as much of a genius that he was Near just couldn't figure Mello out...no one could, all except...

Near stopped twirling his hair as a thought hit him, prompted by the striped figure walking past the door to the playroom he was crouched down in. "Matt! of course...how could I be so stupid?" Dropping the Lego he was currently using to build a tower with, Near shot off out the room to catch up with the redhead that was currently absorbed in the game he was playing, it was unusual to see Matt by himself since he would always have Mello at his side so it was a rare moment that Near seized to try and figure out the single mystery that he could never solve - Mello.

"Matt!" Near called even his shout still being hushed. Matt turned around to face the owner of the voice but of course still had his goggle-clad eyes fixed on the blaring screen of his game boy. The Legend of Zelda theme sung merrily from the speakers as he hastily pushed a combination of buttons and muttered in an angry whisper something about an annoying fairy. He growled in frustration as he lost his game and immediately moved his gaze to the shock of white before him. A smirk appeared on Matt's lips, similar to the one Mello wore "It's a good thing i'm wearing goggles" he said as Near cocked his head to the side like a confused puppy "I might have been blinded from all that white" Matt chuckled amused by his own wit, he automatically turned to his right to give Mello a high five but upon remembering his best friend wasn't there for once he stopped immediately and returned his gaze to the small boy before him. "I need to ask you something Matt" said Near who looked up at the older boy towering above him "Do you have a moment?" Matt looked slightly worried as he glanced around. "You better make this quick Near, If Mello catches me talking to you then he'll probably throw a strop for the next week and break my game boy" He said rubbing the back of his neck with nerves "Who knows what he'll do to you...remember what happened last time?" Near remembered very well indeed, the last time he spoke to Matt was in advanced level maths when he asked to borrow a pencil, Mello got so worked up and angry that Matt had to restrain him from stabbing Near with a very sharp compass while screaming obscenities at him. This resulted in detention for Mello and his uncontrollable temper and act of violence and Near for his apparent "provoking" of Mello. "Yes I remember" Near said cringing slightly at the memory "But this will only take a second...if it's a simple answer that is..." Matt looked interested now, he shifted his goggles to rest more comfortably on his nose then said with a smile "Ask away".

Near hesitated wondering if it was really a good idea to enquire about his rival...what if he found out something he didn't want to know? or was Mello really just a cold and unfriendly person to those he thought were below him? With a deep breath and a lock of hair in his fingers to twirl, Near asked the burning question he'd been longing to ask for as long as he's known the unique boy in question. "Why is Mello so unfriendly towards everyone here? He doesn't seem to have or want any friends besides you...so I just want to know why that is?" It was a simple question no one could deny that...so Near was expecting a simple answer but what he didn't expect was the way Matt reacted to his question. Matt's eyes grew wide behind the orange hue of his goggles and his game boy fell to the polished wooden floor with a clatter that resounded off the walls of the long corridor. Near, quite startled to say the least gulped and slowly moved his gaze from the fallen game boy which he picked up to meet Matt's eyes. Matt had removed his goggles now and they were settled dangling around his neck. For the first time Near saw Matt's true eye colour, having thought they were brown underneath the orange plastic that constantly covered them he discovered that they were a light shade of green, they were reassuring eyes that brought a sense of comfort over Near and his previous state of slight panic at the other boy's reaction had dissipated.

Matt rubbed his eyes adjusting them to the new colours and light intensities that were otherwise distorted from his beloved accessory, he sighed and with a darkened expression asked Near sharply "Why would you even care about that?" Slightly taken aback by Matt's outburst Near stuttered "N...no reason...I...I was just curious" he was feeling truly uncomfortable now, he had pryed and Near never was one to ask many questions...he now realized why. Matt folded his arms and frowned in thought "You know...that's a pretty personal question actually Near, I'm not sure if Mello wants anyone to know, especially you". Near nodded in agreement "I understand Matt but this is driving me crazy...I've never met anyone as complicated as Mello and if I don't find out from you then I'll probably just have to ask him myself" This made Matt's blood run cold, shivering, he shook his head so that his fiery locks flopped about in an amusing manner " That is a definite no Near...seriously if you ask him something personal like that then he will probably finish what he tried to start that time in maths! so for the sake of your life I will tell you if you make a deal with me..."

Matt lied...it wasn't for Near's sake at all. In fact it was the complete opposite. It was for his soul mate's sake, for Mello. If Near came out with a question like that to Mello then not only would he be thrown out of Wammy's for likely murder or disfiguration of the number one pupil but his pride and feelings would probably be very much hurt. Matt felt strongly about protecting him, it wasn't like they had feelings for each other...actually nothing could be further from the truth. Instead the love they shared was similar to the strong bond between two brothers, twins. It was like a symbiotic relationship and one couldn't exist without the other. Yes, that is what they were.

" A deal?" asked Near raising a silvery-fair eyebrow "Yes...a deal, I will tell you whatever you want to know..." said Matt who was now cleaning his steamed up goggles with the sleeve of his striped top "...If you let Mello beat you on the test this Friday. Near's small mouth fell open "WHAT?" he said incredulously "and risk possibly my entire future? I don't think so" Matt's green eyes narrowed in frustration at the smaller boy " Geez Near I thought you were supposed to be a genius or number one to succeed L or some crap like that you can't be stupid enough to think that coming second on one test is going to risk your future can you? Near blinked in realization and sighed Matt continued "Come on it's a fair deal and it would literally mean the world to Mels" Near contemplated again, he would finally know the answer to the question he desperately wanted to know and at the expense of pretending to lose to Mello just once? could he give his rival that satisfaction?

"Mels?" asked Near with amusement in his voice. "Shut up" snapped Matt "What's it gonna be then Mr. number one?" With a shrug Near held his hands up in defeat "Fine I will let Mello win, but only by one mark okay?" Matt smiled triumphantly; Mello was going to have a fabulous weekend that was for sure.

"Right...I've made my end of the deal so now it's your turn, stripes". Matt scoffed at the nickname "Alright alright but you have to promise to keep this to yourself Near because Mello wouldn't forgive me if he finds out I told you, or anyone for that matter got it?" Near nodded "Of course, I won't say a word" he replied. "Good. Now...you want to know why Mello refuses to make any friends besides me? Near nodded once again, he had grown tired of talking so much and wasn't used with having a conversation that lasted this long with anyone.

Matt looked solemn as he placed his goggles back over his eyes and took a deep breath. " It's a well known fact by everyone who knows Mello that he is controlled by his emotions entirely, they drive him in every aspect but hey...it's not a bad thing most of the time! It makes him a fun person to be around once you get past the scariness" Matt chuckled after he said this obviously remembering all the fun times he had shared with Mello from sneaking around Wammy's at night to find his confiscated stash of chocolate to climbing the highest tree and having a massive water fight in the grounds on a hot day. Near had been the unfortunate victim that had gotten between him and Mello during that fight and had ended up utterly drenched, much to the hysteria and delight of his bright-eyed rival who ached for days after giggling so much in a heap on the grass at the sight of Near stumbling back into the orphanage dripping wet and his white clothes turned see-through. " Anyway it's this very aspect of his personality that makes it almost impossible to have friendships with anyone" Near was very rarely confused but right now he had no idea what Matt was getting at but let him continue anyway. "You see if Mello becomes friends with someone then he becomes very attached to them...sort of like a comfort thing in a way but mostly because he's just so happy to be in their company. So to make this easier to understand I'll put it into genius terms for you" Near rolled his eyes at this remark, he was intrigued at what Matt was telling him " Think of the average amount of happiness that a person would feel when with a good friend and then think of Mello, his happiness is probably that x10 due to the fact his emotions are very amplified compared to everyone else's so as a result you can only imagine what he must feel when he is sad and it has something to do with that friendship right? Near was starting to understand now "So your saying that the reason Mello doesn't want to make friends is because although he would be thrilled while things are going well, the pain he would feel if something bad happened like a fight etcetera would be unbearable? Matt nodded "Yes. It hurts him. It hurts him so badly that he is terrified of becoming attached to anyone which is why he works so hard to intimidate people and put them off being friendly towards him. Mello's actually a bit of an overly-caring person although he tries hard not to show it and if he grows close to someone then he will start worrying for their welfare and things just escalate for him from there. So you can only imagine how hard it must be for him once he is friends with someone. Therefore he has the perfect solution: not to make friends at all."

Near shook his head in awe "I never imagined it was like that...I knew he was over-emotional but not so much that it stopped him from building friendships, that's terrible for him." Matt sighed "I know but he has me and he seems content with that so it's not so bad really".

Near opened his mouth to reply but was distracted by an all too familiar voice. "Hey Matty! There you are I've been looking for you all over the place!" It was none other than Mello himself "Well well...speak of the devil" Matt muttered with a smirk "You'd better run Near if he sees us talking then he-" Matt was cut off by a sudden scream of rage that filled the corridor "WHAT THE HELL MATT?" Mello's perfect features were now twisted into an expression of sheer hatred as he laid eyes on Near and Matt doing the unthinkable...talking. "NEAR RUN!" yelled Matt who was starting to panic, he flailed his arms in urgency and Near sped off in the opposite direction of a very scary and venomous Mello.

Matt turned slowly to meet the cold blue eyes of his best friend who waited with his arms folded and his foot tapping impatiently expecting a good excuse for this absolutely disgraceful scene. "Uh...umm...Hey there Mels! I haven't seen you all day where did you get to bro?" Mello unfolded his arms and whacked his friend over the head with the bar of half eaten chocolate he was holding "Ow! what the-" Matt winced, chocolate was a surprisingly good weapon especially after being put in the fridge which was just the way Mello liked it. "Never mind what _I _have been doing, I want to know why _you _were just talking to that big-headed twit!" This was what Mello usually referred to Near as but on worse days he would call him such things that were inappropriate to say out loud to anyone other than Matt. Holding his sore head Matt replied " Near was just asking what was on the menu for dinner today...he wanted to see if it was worth skipping to study and since it's tempura Tuesday he thought he might as well since he's not fussed on fried food." It was a sad excuse made up on the spot but Mello seemed to buy it all the same "Wait...you say he's skipping meals to study? why that scrawny son of a..._that's_ how he's beating me!" and as quickly as he'd arrived it was Mello's turn to speed off in the opposite direction "No one shall beat me now Matty _I _will be number one!" Mello's hysterical laughter echoed in a frightening manner as he ran off to study. Matt sprinted after his much faster friend, having just taken up smoking he was starting to find that his lungs weren't what they used to be and his breathing was starting to suffer. "Wait Mello! you can't skip meals it's bad for you! Mello! Hey...s..stop! Noooooooo!" Anyone watching would have been highly amused by the scene.

Near who was now back in the playroom was just starting to catch his breath after running as fast as his legs would carry him to escape the wrath of Mello. Sometimes he felt like he could relate to the fear a small fish would feel being in the same tank as a Great White shark, one minute you're not seen and the next you're being chased and swallowed up. It's not like he could blame the Aryan boy, Matt was his only friend and of course if anyone so much as looked in Matt's direction, Mello was on their case straight away. Near wondered if this meant Matt felt isolated, but then again he was sure Matt couldn't care if he never made another friend as long as he and Mello had each other's friendship. It wouldn't hurt either of them.


End file.
